Dust and Ashes
by Amazing TEEN Authoress
Summary: All that's left of Taylor Gray on Monday morning is a cloud of dust. But what Taylor's friends don't know is that she's been captured by a man named John Harrison, a villain whose name is only remotely familiar to her. As time goes on, Taylor warms up to the man. Rescued by the crew of the Enterprise, she even realizes that she might be in love with him.
1. Ordinary Girl

**I'm on full force right now! Here's another new story for all you faithful lovers of Sophie and her friends! **

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I've always been insanely curious about space, time-travel, the galaxy, all of that stuff, but I'd never gotten to experience it. That's why science is my favourite class in school. Mr. Schmidt always talks about interesting things. You can also bet that my favourite movies are _Star Trek_ and _Star Wars_. But besides being an openly admitted science freak, I'm also a hard-core athlete. I take gymnastics, and I always excel at pretty much everything in track and field, except for triple jump. For some reason, the hop-step-jump routine just doesn't come smoothly to me. Even taking gymnastics doesn't help me with that. I'm a level seven gymnast, and I have a competition once every month. As a matter of fact, there's a competition this Friday.

I go to school at Valleyview High. My teachers are all pretty good. I've got the best Japanese teacher, and I'm getting really good grades in computer animation. My best friends, Lorena Bruno, Elise Koroupis, Aya Byrne, Georgia McLellan, and Sophie Newton also go to that school, but I only have one class with Elise, two with Aya, and none with Lorena, Georgia, or Sophie.

I also have a twin sister. Her name's Sierra. We're not identical twins, though. She has blonde hair and I have brown. I have green eyes and she has blue. Still, people usually mix us up, kind of like that story in Archie comics, where this guy sends a letter to Veronica, saying that he liked her, but it turns out he actually liked Betty, and mistook their appearances. My sister and I are also exact opposites. While I'm a gym and science freak, my sister's favourite class is English, and all she does for exercise is go out and ride on her horse at our family's farm on weekends.

You can probably tell by now that I'm a pretty open book. Except for my name. Actually, here's a funny story: back in seventh grade, we had a teacher come in to teach us on Fridays while our regular teacher studied for her classes at the university to get her masters degree. So, on her first day, she tried to guess our names. And she thought mine was Nicole. Even after she got to know us, she still called me Nicole on some days.

Monday mornings are my least favourite morning. I'm not used to waking up at seven o'clock after sleeping in until nine thirty for two days. Unfortunately, I'm gonna have to show you what I'm like on a Monday morning, because that's where this all begins.

_Meep. Meep. Meep. Meep. _

The sound of my clock's late alarm woke me, and worked its way into my half-asleep dream. "Off, damned alarm," I muttered. I must've been thinking about my upcoming role as Lady Macbeth in our school play. See, my mom always tells me and my sister that we have to sign up for at least one school activity each year, whether it's volunteering to participate in the welcome-to-Valleyview orientation drama performance for the grade sevens, or signing up for the school play.

Actually, my sister volunteered to be one of the leaders of the groups for the orientation that's in May.

"Taylor! Where are you? Let's go! You're going to be late!" my mom yelled upstairs. "It's seven-thirty!"

"Shit," I mumbled. Then I rolled off the bed and crashed to the floor, tangled in my blankets. "OW."

I scrambled up and attempted to run downstairs, but I crashed into my door before that could happen. "OW," I muttered again. I flung the door open, exited my room, and slammed it shut. I stomped downstairs.

"I hate Mondays," I declared as I sat down on one of the stools at the counter, as if my family didn't already know.

"Eat," my mom said. "You don't want to go to school on an empty stomach." I slowly picked at my toast, and finished it by seven forty.

I only had ten minutes to shower, get dressed, and brush my hair and my teeth. I raced upstairs and flung a towel on the towel rack. I undressed and entered the shower. Quickly washing my hair, I had no time to soak in the warm water. As soon as I was done, I got out.

I selected a pair of blue jeans and a purple long-sleeved t-shirt to wear. I found a purple hair elastic and headband to match, but I didn't put those on yet. With my hair still in a towel wrap, I went to my bathroom and let my hair down. First, I blow-dried it, and then combed it. I used my brush after, and straightened it. I then gathered it and put it up in a high ponytail. I also put the headband in.

My last task was to brush my teeth, which I did in two minutes. After that, I turned the light off, closed the door, and raced downstairs. I put on running shoes and tied the laces in a double-knot.

My mom gave me my backpack, which I put on my shoulders. "Hurry!" she exclaimed. "You'll be late for the bus!"

I had to run to get to the elementary school in time to catch the bus, and I only just made it.

My life is pretty ordinary, as you can probably tell. The only really interesting thing that happened to me was over a year ago. I probably already mentioned my friend Sophie. Didn't I? Well, back in 2015, Sophie got a call from her mom on her birthday, and she let us listen. Turns out, she's half-Vulcan. She went on a whole adventure with the crew of the USS _Enterprise_, and even fell in love with the other half-Vulcan, Spock. It appears that they were childhood friends.

I sat beside Georgia on the bus. "Hey, did you hear that Sophie left again?" she asked.

"Really?" I exclaimed. "She probably went to see Spock again."

"That's the thing," Georgia said. "Her mom says she's needed for a mission."

"A mission!" I cried. "Really? That's so cool."

"Yeah, they need help capturing this guy called John Harrison who bombed a building in London of their time. Captain Pike was killed in the bombing," Georgia exclaimed.

"Oh, no!" I said. "That sucks! He was really cool. He made Kirk a hero!"

The bus pulled up to the school. My first class was gym. During gym, I caught sight of a ghostly pale man with short, jet-black hair.

"Who's that?" I asked Elise. Gym is the one class I share with Elise.

"Don't know," Elise replied, seeing the same man I was.

The man obviously felt confident. He strolled right through the crowd of girls warming up, right up to me. He had a cruel, malicious smile on his face. He grabbed me by the back of my neck. His hand was very cold. I let out a blood-curling scream as we disappeared.


	2. Identities and Klingon Attacks

The man groaned in frustration. "Keep quiet, you idiot," he snapped, "Or we'll be discovered." I drew in a sharp breath as he slapped me. I let it out rapidly.

"But…" I protested.

"I said, _be quiet_," he hissed.

I couldn't decipher the man's reasons as to why he'd taken me. I was just an ordinary girl who had never met him before.

"Why me?" I grunted as he dragged me along. "Why?"

"Shut up," he ordered. "Or I'll kill you."

I gulped. This man was serious. I could see it in his eyes. He was not making a joke. I'd never been this scared in my life.

He thrust me into a dark room. I saw him slam the door shut, and then I could see nothing else except the darkness.

Khan looked at his hands. What had he done? He'd kidnapped an innocent human girl who'd done nothing to him. There had been a dozen human girls back there, but he'd selected her. Why had he done that? The girl had just been an average human teenager. He had no business with her. It was the first time he'd ever felt guilty about anything in his whole life. But why would he feel guilty about this? Maybe it was because of the bright, happy energy that radiated from the girl. He'd threatened to kill her. An ending to a happy life… that would be the worst crime of all. He'd ended plenty of lives, but none of them had been happy. Even after minutes of thought, he still couldn't figure it out.

I hated this. I hated this dark room. I hated the cold-yet-stuffy air that came with the room. And, most importantly, I hated the man who'd brought me here. Why me? I'm just a normal kid! He's never met me before. I haven't done anything to make him upset. If I'd made him upset before now, of course I'd understand why he was doing this. But I'd never even seen him before. He was just a random stranger I'd never seen before in my life. If only Sophie were here. She'd know what to do.

Khan entered the room no more than two days later. "Who are you?" he asked.

"T-T-T-Taylor Gray," she stammered. "W-W-W-Why are you d-d-d-doing this to m-m-m-me?" Her teeth chattered with the coldness of the room.

Khan could not answer her question. "W-W-Where are we?"

"The planet Kronos," he answered. "About four days away from Sol."

"W-What?" she asked. "If you l-l-let me out, m-m-maybe I'll be able to t-t-talk p-p-properly."

Khan supposed he'd have to let her out sometime. He remembered that ordinary humans could not survive the cold as well as he could. He nodded. The girl stood up and followed him outside.

"Wow," I breathed. "This is so cool." And it was. It looked like it was around dusk.

Chattering in a foreign language made me stiffen.

"Klingons," he muttered. "Dammit. Hide."

"But…" I protested.

"Hide!" he snapped.

I crouched low behind a rock. I heard him talking to the Klingons in their language. One nodded, and he came back.

"What did you say?" I demanded.

"None of your business," he said.

"You know, I do think I have a right to know your name," I said.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes," I insisted.

"John Harrison," he muttered.

Wow. Such a normal name for such an evil guy. I was surprised.

I heard the Klingons' chatter again. "Hide!" John hissed. But his warning came too late. The Klingons attacked.

I knew nothing about fighting. I'd never fought anyone in my life, unless you counted slapping Keaton Ellis back in ninth grade. It probably didn't count. I watched John fight the Klingons. I was amazed at his combat skills. I'd never known anyone who could fight like that.

Soon, both Klingons were dead. "Wow," I said. "That was awesome."

"It was nothing," he muttered, obviously embarrassed.

"You have to teach me to fight like that," I begged.

"No," he said immediately.

"Please," I insisted. "I have to be ready to fight if they find us again."

"All right." He sighed in defeat.

Wow. Wow. _Wow_. John Harrison was going to train me! I'd learn to fight. Even Sophie hadn't learned this kind of fighting. I couldn't wait to tell Sophie about all of this.


	3. The Wrath of Sophie

**So, they've found Taylor and they've captured John Harrison. But what happens when Jim sees Taylor as a criminal as well? You can sure bet that Sophie's going to do something about it!**

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Over the next few weeks, I trained with John. He taught me everything he'd learned. But I still wasn't good enough to floor him. He could floor me easily, but I could not do the same to him.

I looked behind me cautiously. John's hand caught my arm and threw it behind my back. "Never take your eye off your enemy," he reminded me. It had been one of the first things he'd taught me.

Over the past few weeks, I'd learned a lot from John. I'd gotten way stronger. Sophie would be so impressed when she saw what I'd learned.

My hands came down on John's shoulders. Using all my energy, I thrust him back. It was so much that, for the first time, I was able to floor him.

The sound of a space shuttle landing made John swear. He got up. The ship was surrounded by Klingons.

"Ready to use your skills in a real battle?" he asked.

"Definitely," I said.

My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw who was aboard the shuttle. It was James T. Kirk, Spock, Nyota Uhura, Sulu, and Sophie! I knew what this was about. I suddenly remembered why John's name had been familiar: I'd heard it in _Star Trek: Into Darkness_. But I also didn't remember its importance.

Nyota got out of the ship to negotiate with the Klingons in their native language. Again, I did not understand a single word they said.

The Klingons attacked. Jim, Spock, Sulu, and Sophie rushed out to defend them. John handed me a gun. "Use this to cock it, and then press the trigger to shoot," he whispered.

I was quickly intercepted by Sulu. His demeanor was not threatening- he never was- but his grasp was strong.

"Take her aboard!" Jim called.

Sulu started to lead me to the shuttle. "Sulu to _Enterprise_, beam us up!" Sulu said.

"NO!" I protested. "No! John, help me!" But it was too late for John to do anything. We were aboard.

"Take her to a cell," Sulu instructed Bones.

I was silent the whole way there. Bones's movements were not forceful when he made me go inside.

A little while later, Sophie came with Jim, who'd captured John.

"Taylor!" Sophie exclaimed. "Jim, what are you doing? She's no enemy!"

"Then who is she?" Jim demanded.

"Taylor Gray, one of my best friends," Sophie replied.

"I can't let her go," Jim said.

"Why not?" Sophie screeched at him.

"Because," Jim said. "Even if she's your friend, she was still associating with the criminal."

_Criminal? But John's not a criminal!_

"John's not a criminal," I insisted.

"He bombed the building in which Captain Pike died," Jim informed me.

_That's not true! He wouldn't! _But I had a nagging suspicion that it was true. I glared at him.

Jim shoved John inside the cell. I did not say a word to him.

"Jim, if you really want me to remain on this ship, you will release Taylor," Sophie growled, "Or I will consider leaving."

"All right, all right!" Jim exclaimed in defeat. "I'll release her. But she'd better not try anything funny."

"Would I really do that?" I snapped.

"I couldn't know," Jim said.

"Jim!" Sophie exclaimed. "Taylor is one of my best frickin' friends! Do you really believe she'd do something?"

"I couldn't know," Jim repeated.

"Get Bones," Sophie instructed. "I need him."

I was released from the cell. "You're welcome," Sophie growled when I said nothing.

"Thank you," I muttered.

"You wanted me?" Bones asked.

"I need you to keep an eye on Taylor," Sophie explained. "She doesn't know her way around, and I don't want her to get lost. And if she tries anything, I want to know."

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "I thought you said you thought I wouldn't do anything."

"Just in case," she assured me.

"I can't let you just dump her on me!" Bones snapped. "I'm busy! Dammit, Sophie, I'm a doctor, not a babysitter!" I flinched at Bones's language.

"What, are you scared?" Sophie teased.

"All right, I'll do it," Bones sighed. "But you should know that you owe me one."

"I know." Sophie winked. "Thanks." She walked away from us.

"Um… I think maybe you should leave," Jim suggested.

"All right," Bones muttered. He was obviously not happy about this.


End file.
